All Fox Hunters Are Scum – Well, Anyone Rural, Traditional And Conservative Has To Be

The Avon Vale hunt makes its way to the Village of Laycock, Wiltshire on the traditional Boxing Day meet.

ARE hunters scum? Is their desire to dress in tights and cropped jackets (for him) and hunt foxes offending you? Or is your problem with hunters, that they embody all the things you aren’t allowed to like, things labelled “rural”, “traditional”, “local” and “conservative”? Is that why you want these ninnies banned, because you despise what it is you think they stand for? Are these people who bay for blood and treat animals like, well, animals, a bit reckless, untamed and savage?

Do you hate fox hunters because you are a bigot?

Fox-hunting is not something I’d ever want to do. It’s pathetic. Foxes aren’t my enemy. I’ve no desire to torture them and inflict unimaginable pain on their flesh. Hunters could argue that the vermin is elevated to the rank to quarry by the hunt. But any debate over whether or not giving the condemned beast a head start is not worthwhile. Rats, mice and moles are not hunted by men on horseback because they are very small. Although, again, new traditions enabling pit ponies and chihuahuas should be considered.

Also, when you see Nigel Farage supping a pint at the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt, anyone sane would be somewhere else.

Members of the Middleton Hunt.

Luke Tomlinson leaves Charing Cross Police Station in central London. He is one eight protesters accused of entering the chambers of the House of Commons.

A police officer and a member of the public face to face during a pro-hunting demonstration in Parliament Square, central London, ahead of the vote on a controversial Bill which could finally see fox-hunting and hare-coursing banned in England and Wales. The Hunting Bill will be rushed through the House of Commons in a single day, and the Government has made clear that, if MPs vote for a ban, it will invoke the Parliament Act to quash expected resistance in the Lords.

The Liberty and Livelihood march, organised by the Countryside Alliance, passes over Westminster Bridge in central London to show its opposition to the proposed ban on fox-hunting and hunting with hounds.

Prince William during the Beaufort Hunt

The wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Cherie Blair, (right) who hosted a tea part at No.10 Downing Street, for winners of the Motorola Youth Parliament Competition 2000. * Cherie signs a book of their choice for, “Best Speaker” Felicity Galt from St Leonards School, St Andrews, for her debate on The abolition of fox hunting and “Best Backbencher” Paul Evans from St Michael’s Roman Catholic Comprehensive School Billingham, for his debate : To re-nationalise the railways in the UK.

Hunting – Old Berkeley Foxhounds – Cholesbury

He holds a dead fox in his hands. But Dave Wetton of the NX Hunts Saboteurs Association is not allowed to stop to make a protest. The Police moved him on from outside The British Sports Society’s Office in Caxton St.London.2-12-1973

Member of the Duke of Beaufort Hunt takes a dead fox from the hounds after a “kill” near Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

You can be fined up to £5,000 if you’re found guilty of illegal hunting.

Hunting with dogs
You can’t hunt some animals, like foxes, hares and deer, but you can hunt under certain conditions, for example:

stalking and flushing out – but only to control pests and only if they’re shot as soon as possible afterwards
hunting rats and rabbits
retrieving hares that have been shot
rescuing wounded animals, as long as they weren’t wounded on purpose
drag hunting and trail hunting

Today’s fox hunts involves chasing a rag laced with fox scent. The rag is carried by a man. When found he is not ripped to shreds, although Mr Farage should note that their are no rules forbidding the ragger from being Polish. So, think on.

The Avon Vale hunt in the village of Laycock, Wiltshire on the traditional Boxing Day meet.

This year the Boxing Day hunts were attended by around 250,000 people. The Guardiansingled out a few for special observations:

Tory MPs attend Boxing Day fox hunt

Several Tory MPs, including three ministers, have demonstrated their support for easing the ban on foxhunting by attending traditional Boxing Day hunts in their constituencies. They included Damian Green, the policing and criminal justice minister, Matthew Hancock, the skills and enterprise minister, and Greg Barker, the minister for energy and climate change. All three turned to Twitter to note the degree of support for the hunts.

Tories supporting a legal pastime! Crikey. Any Labour voters amongst the mob? Come on, show yourselves and be shamed.

This week we bring you an excellent new short film, made in conjunction with our friends at Fieldsportschannel.tv and presented by former Countryside Alliance board member and seasoned hunting campaigner, Nicky Sadler. The film is a true celebration of hunting, marking the 50th anniversary of the Banwen Miners Hunt in South Wales. The Banwen Miners Hunt has it all: history; characters; youngsters coming into hunting and a friendly, community spirit. We are treated to some vintage footage of the miners in their work clothes heading off to get ready for the meet and setting off on horseback from the pit, and there is also plenty to enjoy from the commentary of two of the Hunt’s Masters, Jeff Evans and Peter Astle.

The MFA is keen to promote its own sport as one for the common man to enjoy.

Under the proposals the law banning farmers from using more than two dogs to flush out foxes and shoot them would be scrapped allowing them to use a full pack. The move, which is backed by a cross-party alliance of MPs, would be the first change to one of the most contentious pieces of legislation in modern times… However MPs from the Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Plaid Cymru parties, are joining farmers groups in pressing the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to scrap the limit. The change, which is likely to require a vote in Parliament but not a fresh bill, would bring the law in England and Wales into line with that in Scotland. It comes after a study demonstrated for the first time that deploying a full pack of hounds to flush foxes from cover can be almost twice as effective as using a pair of dogs.

Riders and horses at the Cheshire Hunt which leaves from The Swan in Tarporley, England’s oldest Hunt Club founded in 1762, as eight out of ten people believe foxhunting should remain illegal, an animal welfare charity has claimed on the biggest day in the hunting calendar.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “There is a very specific issue here around pest control and the impact it has on particular farming communities, such as hill farmers. The Prime Minister has some sympathy with these concerns. They have been voiced by MPs from across the House.”

The spokesman said the coalition agreement included provision for a free vote on hunting, and declined to rule out holding one before the general election.

“Given the cross-party nature of concerns raised in this area, it is something the House may wish to consider,” he said.